Message to the Congress Transmitting Annual Plan for United States Participation in the World Weather Program.

To the Congress of the United States:

People everywhere recognize that weather influences day-to-day activities. People are also mindful that weather, sometimes violent, breeds storms that take lives and destroy property. Coupled with these traditional concerns, there is now a new awareness of the cumulative effects of weather. The impact of climate and climatic fluctuations upon global energy, food and water resources poses a potential threat to the quality of life everywhere.

The World Weather Program helps man cope with his atmosphere. We must continue to rely upon and to strengthen this vital international program as these atmospheric challenges--both old and new--confront us in the future.

I am pleased to report significant progress in furthering the goals of the World Weather Program. This past year has recorded these accomplishments:

--The United States began near-continuous viewing of weather and storms over most of North and South America and adjacent waters through the use of two geostationary satellites.

--The U.S.S.R., Japan, and the European Space Research Organization have taken steps to join with the United States in extending this weather watch to include five geostationary satellites around the globe.

--Computer power devoted to operational weather services and to atmospheric research has been increased appreciably. This leads to immediate gains in weather prediction and to long-term gains in extending the time, range and scope of weather predictions and in assessing the consequences of climatic fluctuations upon man and of man's activities upon climate.

--During the summer of 1974, an unprecedented event in international science occurred with the successful conduct of an experiment in the tropical Atlantic. More than one-third of the earth's tropical belt was placed under intensive observation by 69 nations using a network of hundreds of land stations, 39 research ships, 13 specially instrumented aircraft and 7 meteorological satellites. The results of this experiment are expected to permit a sound understanding of the role of the tropics as the heat source for the global atmosphere and to provide new insight into the origin of tropical storms and hurricanes.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 67 of the 90th Congress declared the intention of the United States to participate fully in the World Weather Program. It is in accordance with this Resolution that I transmit this annual report describing current and planned Federal activities that contribute, in part, to this international program from which all nations benefit.

GERALD R. FORD

The White House,

June 10, 1975.